Woman&#39;s hose supporter



4 6 7 R WY m m 2 E0 M0 5 N6 w 2 Filed Nov. 23, 1946 L B COOLEY WOMAN S HOSE SUPPORTER Nov. 7, 1950 Patented Nov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WOMANS HOSE SUPPORTER Lenore B. Cooley, New York, N. Y. Application November 23, 1946, Serial No. 711,859

3 Claims.

This invention relates to hose supporting means for women.

The usual hose supporting means for women as, for example, the conventional garter belt, is objectionable because of its tendency to crawl below the waistline, with considerable discomfort to the wearer.

One object of the invention is a hose supporting means or device in which the above noted objections or disadvantages and others of conventional supporters are obviated.

A further object of the invention is a novel and improved garter belt which is characterized by its simplicity in design, the ease and comfort with which it may be worn and the economy with which it may be manufactured.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, wherein Fig, 1 is an elevational view of a garter belt embodying the invention;

Figs. 2A and 2B are plan views of parts of the belt of Fig. 1 before assembly;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 2A and 2B assembled and fastened together;

Fig. 4 is .a bottom View of the partiall com pleted garment shown in Fig. 3 illustrating the completion of the garment;

Fig. 5c is a diagrammatic view simulating a sectional view along the line 50 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. '7 is an elevational View of a modification of the garment.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, I have illustrated the invention as embodied in a garter belt designated by the numeral l. The belt embodies a part A above the waistline 2 and a part B below the waistline 2. The part B has attached thereto or formed therewith the hose supporter straps 3 and garters 3' of conventional character are attached to the straps. The lower part B of the belt in addition to functioning as a means for attaching the garters 3, is designed to make a form fit about the hips of the wearer. The upper part A of the belt is of frusto-conical shape, flaring outwardly in an upward direction from the narrow waistline 2. The frusto-conical part A is self-sustaining but is laterall flexible and yielding to accommodate itself to the body portion just above the waistline without binding in any body position. It is of shallow depth and I have found a depth of around two inches quite satisfactory, though fairly satisfactory results may be obtained with depths of up to 2 inches and down to 1 inches. The lower part B of the belt is preferably of greater depth than the depth of the part A and in the particular embodiment shown in Fig, 1 the depth of the part B is equal to or slightly greater than twice the depth of the part A although this relationship in depth may be varied.

The upper part A of the garment is formed of the strip shown in Fig. 2A. It comprises a multiplicity of panels 6 of the required depth which are sewed together along the lines I. These panels 6 are slightly tapered from their upper edges -8 to their lower edges 9 so as to form a strip when the panels 6 are sewn along the lines 7 of arch shape illustrated in the drawing. The part B of the garment is formed of a strip illustrated in Fig. 2B. This strip is also formed of a multiplicity of panels, these panels being designated 6 and these panels of which the strip of Fig. 2B is formed are also tapered, in this case being tapered from the lower edge 3 to the upper edges 9'. Like the panels of the strip of Fig. 2A the panels of Fig. 2B are sewn together along their tapered edges to form the seams I. An arcuate strip B is thus formed which is generally similar to the arcuate strip of Fig. 2A. These two strips A and B are sewn together along their inner arcuate edges '9 and 9' respectively to form the waistline 2, the garment in this stage being illustrated in Fig. 3.

The parts A and B of the garment may be made of similar or different fabric materials but preferably of the same material as, for example, rayon silk and other conventional materials. If the material is heavy enough the upper part A of the garment may have sufiicient self-sustaining character as to render unnecessary any added stiffening means. When the fabric of which the garment is made is of medium or light weight material it may be desirable to incorporate some additional stiffening means and Fig. 4 illustrates this added stiffening means as being in the form of a pair of spaced stays IE3, these stays being of any conventional material which though laterally flexible imparts to the upper part A of the garment greater stiffness. They are enclosed in envelopes H sewn on to the inner side of the garment along one of the scams 1, l.

The belt is formed as described of a multiplicity of tapered panels 6, 6' and in the particular embodiment shown there are eight of such panels in each part A and B and I have found that number of panels as particularly suitable for a belt of medium sized girth. The panels 6, 5 are sewn together to form the garter belt I having the lower form fitting part B and the upper selfsustaining frusto-conical part A just above the waistline 2 as described above. Preferably the panels are sew together first to form the separate arcuate strips A and B of Figs. 2A and 2B and then the strips are sewn together along their shorter arcuate edges 9, 9' to form the belt I. The outer edges 20, 2| of the outer panels are provided with suitable complementary fastening means 22, 22 for fastening the belt I about the waist.

In the embodiment of Fig. 7 the lower part B of the garter belt is of shorter depth than the similar part B of Fig. 1 while the upper part A is roughly the same depth as that of part A. Otherwise the embodiment of Fig. 7 is like that of Fig. l.

I have found that the garter belt of this invention has a 'very substantially less tendency to slip below the waistline than the conventional garter belt or similar conventional hose supporter. It tends to cling to the waistline and not to crawl under'the more or less muscular abdomen structure, or it tends to prevent the latter from rolling or crawling over the waistline of the belt, in contrast with conventional belts which often cause considerable discomfort due to an opposite tendency. I believe this functioning of my garter belt is due to the upstanding frusto-conical part A of shallow depth extending from a narrow waistline 2 (in the particular embodiment shown being the depth of the seam 99) and snugly but yieldingly fitting the wearer just above the waist line, without binding and pressing. The main body part of the belt may be made of any suitable fabric material such for example as the inelastic cotton, rayon, nylon or silk materials, although some elasticity may be incorporated if desired.

I claim:

1. A garter belt for women comprising upper and lower sections, said upper section being arcuate in shape and having substantially parallel 4 edges when freely extended to lie in a plane, the lower section having a generally arcuate shape when freely extended to lie in a plane, the upper edge of said lower section being curved oppositely to the edges of said upper section, said lower section having garters thereon at spaced points, the lower edge of said upper section being joined tothe upper edge of said lower section whereby to providea waistline for said garter belt, the arcuate shapes of said joined parts causing said garter belt snugly to fit a wearer in a form fitting manner above and below the waist.

2. The garter belt of claim 1 including a pair of vertical stays circumferentially spaced from each other and extending above and below the waistline.

3. A garter belt for women comprising a plurality of vertical panels of relatively inelastic fabric material, each panel consisting of an upper garter belt part and a lower garter belt part, the upper part of each of said panels tapering from the top of said garter belt downwardly, the lower part of each of said panels tapering upwardly from the lower part of said garter belt;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,104,664 Guggenheim 1 July 21, 1914 1,312,459 Strocker Aug. 5, 1919 1,345,800 Mullin July 6, 1920 1,512,369 Siegel Oct. 21, 1924 1,566,109 McKeefrey Dec. 15, 1925 

